A stellar update. The recurring hypocrisy from different characters was a very nice touch.
Chronicles of the Golden Cross
- Thread starter The Kingmaker
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Just read part VII. Great update! So the Third Crusade "ends" in success, only to be "undeclared" over by our ever-valiant Richard soon after!
On the home front there are interesting developments, too. Such as Queen Frederica of Egypt. My, I doubt if any Queen (save Cleopatra, and perhaps Hatchepsut, ironically both also Queens of Egypt) was ever so decadent! But in Jerusalem we find vices as well. Foolish young Godfrey.
But my favourite part was Reynauld becoming a monk! Never in my life did I expect that to happen! And the caption for the picture "Call it force of habit", couldn't ask for a better pun! Well done! :rofl:
On the home front there are interesting developments, too. Such as Queen Frederica of Egypt. My, I doubt if any Queen (save Cleopatra, and perhaps Hatchepsut, ironically both also Queens of Egypt) was ever so decadent! But in Jerusalem we find vices as well. Foolish young Godfrey.
But my favourite part was Reynauld becoming a monk! Never in my life did I expect that to happen! And the caption for the picture "Call it force of habit", couldn't ask for a better pun! Well done! :rofl:
Just read the next chapter! Actually, I had started it earlier this morning, but almost missed Greek class today I was so captivated by the story! And ofcourse, I was only half paying attention in Greek. First thing after class I rushed to my laptop to finish the chapter!
Many interesting developements here. So Godfrey is married to Diane Kruger... I mean... Anastasia. Not a bad choice. Not a bad choice at all. I really like Henri de Champagne, hopefully we will get to read about his exploits (at least, in the form of an excerpt from a codex that some high-born character is reading). I loved that picture!
And I am really liking Godfrey. He will be a good King, much like his namesake (though technically, Godfrey de Bouillon was never a King, but, we won't dwell on semantics).
Many interesting developements here. So Godfrey is married to Diane Kruger... I mean... Anastasia. Not a bad choice. Not a bad choice at all. I really like Henri de Champagne, hopefully we will get to read about his exploits (at least, in the form of an excerpt from a codex that some high-born character is reading). I loved that picture!
And I am really liking Godfrey. He will be a good King, much like his namesake (though technically, Godfrey de Bouillon was never a King, but, we won't dwell on semantics).
Me too!
Just now found this AAR, and the last chapter was riveting. I hope you continue with this!
Just now found this AAR, and the last chapter was riveting. I hope you continue with this!
Alright, everyone.
Sorry for the delay. Life has been crazy, what with the visiting relations, no job, a new job, looking for a better, more permanent job, increased ecclesiastical responsibilities at church, and the internet down for several days.
Now I have some good news and some bad news.
Bad news first: I won't be posting my usual long, killer updates, at least not for a while. I've simply become too busy to produce on that scale.
Good news second: I will still be posting updates, but in a more serial format. I'm taking my ideas for the big updates and breaking them into smaller updates, so that I will be able to post more frequently (and hopefully avoid another huge delay).
Now with that said, expect the next update later today!
_________________________________________________
But first some long awaited replies:
Murmurandus: Glad you got that little joke.
canonized: Thank you, kind sir!
frigidmagi: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying my portrayal of Richard. I like to think that my depiction doesn't follow the usual stereotypes. I mean, he's a totally awesome warrior, as is expected, but he's neither a pious saint nor an evil villain. Quite simply, he's... Richard the Lionhearted.
Kurt_Steiner: If I'm not very much mistaken, you're referring to a certain Miss Natalie Dormer. Never fear, she's been cast as a member of the royal family down the road, Godfrey's great-great-granddaughter, IIRC. We'll have to wait and see, but she might even make Queen Regnant!
Estonianzulu: Indeed, provided push comes to shove.
Cartimandua: Thanks! Glad to have you aboard and commenting at last.
Eams: Thank you. I try to give each of them their own little quirks and agendas, and hope that they surface enough to make each distinctive.
Qorten: It's coming today! Thanks for your continued support.
crusaderknight: I'm glad you're enjoying my AAR. You always have good insights into the characters and their motivations. I hope you're able to get caught up soon so that you'll be able to read my latest updates!
The_Archduke: Well, my friend, your request shall soon be answered. Glad you decided to stop by... I hope you'll make a habit of it.
CatKnight: Welcome aboard! Don't worry, Chronicles is alive and kicking.
Sorry for the delay. Life has been crazy, what with the visiting relations, no job, a new job, looking for a better, more permanent job, increased ecclesiastical responsibilities at church, and the internet down for several days.
Now I have some good news and some bad news.
Bad news first: I won't be posting my usual long, killer updates, at least not for a while. I've simply become too busy to produce on that scale.
Good news second: I will still be posting updates, but in a more serial format. I'm taking my ideas for the big updates and breaking them into smaller updates, so that I will be able to post more frequently (and hopefully avoid another huge delay).
Now with that said, expect the next update later today!
_________________________________________________
But first some long awaited replies:
Murmurandus: Glad you got that little joke.
canonized: Thank you, kind sir!
frigidmagi: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying my portrayal of Richard. I like to think that my depiction doesn't follow the usual stereotypes. I mean, he's a totally awesome warrior, as is expected, but he's neither a pious saint nor an evil villain. Quite simply, he's... Richard the Lionhearted.
Kurt_Steiner: If I'm not very much mistaken, you're referring to a certain Miss Natalie Dormer. Never fear, she's been cast as a member of the royal family down the road, Godfrey's great-great-granddaughter, IIRC. We'll have to wait and see, but she might even make Queen Regnant!
Estonianzulu: Indeed, provided push comes to shove.
Cartimandua: Thanks! Glad to have you aboard and commenting at last.
Eams: Thank you. I try to give each of them their own little quirks and agendas, and hope that they surface enough to make each distinctive.
Qorten: It's coming today! Thanks for your continued support.
crusaderknight: I'm glad you're enjoying my AAR. You always have good insights into the characters and their motivations. I hope you're able to get caught up soon so that you'll be able to read my latest updates!
The_Archduke: Well, my friend, your request shall soon be answered. Glad you decided to stop by... I hope you'll make a habit of it.
CatKnight: Welcome aboard! Don't worry, Chronicles is alive and kicking.
THE REIGN OF GODFREY II (1213-?)
Part XVI: Man of God
Pope Innocent III gazed from the parapets of the Castel Sant’Angelo at the many fires raging in distant corners of the Eternal City. How had it come to this? Rome had not been the same since Frederick Barbarossa’s conquest of northern Italy in the 1190s. The Lateran Palace, which Innocent had attempted to refurbish only a few years ago, now lay looted and abandoned. He never ventured beyond the walls of the Castel anymore, for fear of having an unexpected “accident.” Nowadays, nobody walked the streets of Rome without a substantial contingent of guards.
The Castel Sant'Angelo, formerly a Roman mausoleum, now a Papal fortress.
The condottieri he had hired to defend the Castel were fairly loyal, as long as they were well paid, and Innocent felt somewhat secure behind his walls of stone and mercenaries. However, the Papal treasury was beginning to run thin, from years of paying off protection racketeers and buying fair-weather allies. Innocent felt the cold stone of the battlements; this was his fortress, but it could just as easily become his prison.
The local noble families now operated more like organized crime syndicates than respectable knights and merchants, and the Cardinals of the Curia were each trying to bully their way into more power and influence. Their grasping self-aggrandizement was despicable, but in his current situation Innocent found himself unable to do anything about it. Survival had to be his primary focus now.
Yet there was one particular Cardinal that the Pope especially despised: Daimbert of Mainz. The Grand Inquisitor had recently returned from Outremer to receive his scarlet zucchetto. This was particularly galling to Pope Innocent; privately he loathed the man, but publicly, Daimbert had made himself indispensable to the Papacy.
Over the course of the past several years, the scheming viper had carefully managed to worm his way into a position of such power and influence that he was able to manipulate even Innocent himself, and he had done it all under the Pope’s very nose, yet without his knowledge.
“Your Holiness…” said Innocent’s bodyguard, interrupting his thoughts, “Cardinal de Borja is here as you requested. Do you wish to speak with him now?”
Innocent beckoned affirmatively with his hand, and a short, wiry man in cardinal’s robes was ushered onto the battlements.
“Holiness?” asked de Borja, his face contorted in his usual sycophantic grin.
“How are the preparations for the new Crusade proceeding?” asked Innocent, attempting to mask his disgust. He found the idea of a crusade against a Christian Jerusalem to be utterly repugnant. Daimbert had insisted that he had rooted out a coven of elite heretics among the royal family during his stay in the kingdom, but Innocent could not bring himself to believe the allegations. Godfrey de Lusignan was too much of an idealist to turn to heresy.
However, Daimbert’s influence had been too great, his schemes too well thought out. Innocent could not disprove the charges against the Lusignan Dynasty, nor could he properly investigate; after all, his lead Inquisitor was the one who had levied the charges in the first place.
No, Daimbert had to have a grudge against someone in that family, likely King Godfrey himself, or perhaps his mother Sibylla, notorious for her political machinations. Innocent had supposed that declaring an Interdict upon the Kingdom of Jerusalem would satiate Daimbert’s desire for vengeance, and thus be the end of the matter. He certainly had not anticipated that the Cardinal would call for a crusade!
“His hatred must run deep,” murmured Innocent, under his breath.
“What was that, your Holiness?” asked Cardinal de Borja, an eyebrow raised curiously.
Innocent III, a very frustrated Pope.
Innocent realized that he had allowed his thoughts to wander. The simpering little man had still been prattling off the details of the reprehensible new crusade.
“Nothing, Cardinal,” said the Pope, perhaps a little too nervously, “What other preparations remain?”
“Just the arrangements for the Crusade’s transport by sea, your Holiness,” simpered the dwarfish Cardinal, “Which you desired to oversee personally, your Holiness, unless my memory has failed me.” De Borja had a devious glint to his eye, more like a whoremonger showing his wares than a pious Christian cleric.
“Yes, of course,” said Innocent, “After much prayer and fasting, I have at last reached a decision.” He had postponed the expedition as long as he could; any longer and Daimbert would have become suspicious, or rather, more suspicious than usual.
And so Innocent found himself in his current predicament. He pulled a roll of parchment from his sleeve. “Cardinal, take this message to the Doge. Deliver it in person, and then return to me with his response.”
“The Doge? Of Venice?” De Borja’s scheming expression instantly changed to a look of pure shock.
“Yes, Doge Enrico Dandolo of Venice,” chided the Pope, feigning annoyance at the Cardinal’s predictable astonishment, "Was I unclear?”
“N-no, of course not, your Holiness,” spluttered de Borja, “Heaven forfend!” He snatched the parchment out of the Pope’s hands in such haste that he was almost disrespectful; then he remembered himself and bowed before Innocent according to papal protocol.
“Cardinal,” chided Innocent, enjoying the awkward moment, “Remember that this correspondence is so important that I must send not a courier, but a cardinal. You must not delay.”
De Borja nodded sheepishly before hurrying off in a panic, presumably to attend to his mission.
Of course Innocent knew why de Borja was so aggravated. The vile little man was deep in the pay of Daimbert of Mainz, to whom he almost certainly would be reporting after delivering his message to the Doge. In fact, Innocent was counting on it. As the old adage went, desperate times called for desperate measures, and Innocent had decided to call in an old favor.
“I’ve got you, Daimbert of Mainz,” he thought to himself, “And there’s nothing you can do about it!”
For the first time in months, Pope Innocent III smiled.
The new crusade is coming, but... what is the Pope's secret plan?
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Yay! You're back!
So Innocent is turning to old blind Enrico Dandilo... I don't think this is going to bode well for Daimbert, though Enrico is truly a political spider. I hope Innocent knows what fire he's dealing with!
Papal Backstab +1
So Innocent is turning to old blind Enrico Dandilo... I don't think this is going to bode well for Daimbert, though Enrico is truly a political spider. I hope Innocent knows what fire he's dealing with!
Papal Backstab +1
What evil scheme could the Pope be up to?
Welcome back btw, we all missed this infusion of our favorite addictive substance
Welcome back btw, we all missed this infusion of our favorite addictive substance
Huzzah an excellent chapter ! And definitely has helped inspire my pen this night as well An excellent craft of intrigue and i'm definitely looking forward to the Pope's plan ! Viva Il Papa !
An excellent craft of intrigue and i'm definitely looking forward to the Pope's plan ! Viva Il Papa !
@ General_BT: It's good to be back! Stay tuned for next time, and you might get to see Venetian Backstab +2. I just couldn't resist a Dandolo cameo before the old man croaked.
@ The_Archduke: We shall soon see about that. Pope Innocent certainly does not fit his name, that's for sure. And addictive? My AAR? Surely you jest? But thank you for the compliment!
@ canonized: Thank you! And I'm glad I was able to provide a bit of inspiration. I hope you enjoy the ensuing intrigue in the next few updates!
Stay tuned for next time, and you might get to see Venetian Backstab +2. I just couldn't resist a Dandolo cameo before the old man croaked.@ The_Archduke: We shall soon see about that.
Pope Innocent certainly does not fit his name, that's for sure. And addictive? My AAR? Surely you jest? But thank you for the compliment! @ canonized: Thank you! And I'm glad I was able to provide a bit of inspiration. I hope you enjoy the ensuing intrigue in the next few updates!
Ooh, finally you're back! Papal-Venetian schemes, can there be anything more vicious and deadly for their enemies? And then hopefully back to Outremer for a view of the situation there?
And then hopefully back to Outremer for a view of the situation there?It seems that Comes Signatus is not so willing with this Crusade as expected. Should had it to take place in Sourthen France, perhaps?
@ Murmurandus: Always glad to oblige!
@ Qorten: We'll soon see that there is something deadlier than a Papal-Venetian scheme. And yes, we'll see Outremer in the next update.
@ Kurt_Steiner: Indeed. And I think you're on to something. What isn't going on in southern France? Why not?
@ Qorten: We'll soon see that there is something deadlier than a Papal-Venetian scheme.
And yes, we'll see Outremer in the next update.@ Kurt_Steiner: Indeed. And I think you're on to something. What isn't going on in southern France? Why not?
Allways problem with popes, (pope = problem = harm).
I just hope not into Constantinople.o
I just hope not into Constantinople.
o
Enewald said:Allways problem with popes, (pope = problem = harm).
I just hope not into Constantinople.
Your right there! I just have to hear the name "Enrico Dandolo" and I get the shrugs. Although it might sound nasty: I'd rather see the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem destroyed than the true Roman Empire and the Queen of Cities.
But apart from that I really liked the update! It's interesting to see a 12th century Pope, an era when the apostolian chair was historically probably more powerful than ever, as a figurehead for the schemes of others. However it seems to look like he is about to reclaim his rightful position of power...
~Lord Valentine~
@ Enewald: Lol, at least it was like that in the Middle Ages. We'll just have to see how things go.
@ Lord Valentine: It is interesting, isn't it? That was a little twist I thought I'd throw in. All actions have consequences and nowhere should that be truer than in counterfactual history.
So since all of the most devout papal supporters have journeyed to Jerusalem on crusade to build up the Kingdom of Heaven (at papal instigation, I might add), no one was left to aid the Holy Father when the Imperial faction tried to seize power. Now all of northern Italy (outside the small Papal State) is firmly in the hands of the Empire, and the Pope is forced against his will to do the bidding of lesser men.
As for your other sentiment, let me just say that I think there's an old saying somewhere that goes, "Sometimes before God can build us up, he's got to tear us down a bit first."
@ Lord Valentine: It is interesting, isn't it? That was a little twist I thought I'd throw in. All actions have consequences and nowhere should that be truer than in counterfactual history.
So since all of the most devout papal supporters have journeyed to Jerusalem on crusade to build up the Kingdom of Heaven (at papal instigation, I might add), no one was left to aid the Holy Father when the Imperial faction tried to seize power. Now all of northern Italy (outside the small Papal State) is firmly in the hands of the Empire, and the Pope is forced against his will to do the bidding of lesser men.
As for your other sentiment, let me just say that I think there's an old saying somewhere that goes, "Sometimes before God can build us up, he's got to tear us down a bit first."